This wasn’t part of the plan. It wasn’t supposed to happen. Or was it? A few times in each generation… we get up… turn on the news… and everything changes. I have lived through one of these moments in history. September 11, 2001. Today would be my second.

What have we become? And how did one man drag a nation this far?

Connect with the podcast on our website… ⁠LifeOutThere.me⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Podcast written and recorded by Dougie, Billie, and Craig.

Logo’s designed and owned by Dougie, Billie, and Craig. Design assistance provided by Bing Copilot.

Information sources referenced in podcast include Bing Copilot, Wikipedia, and YouTube.

Intro/Outro music by Audio Jungle and used with permission and acknowledgment.

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Shared under fair use published material. No copyright infringement intended.

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We awoke to a 20 degree morning in Meeker... so things had actually warmed a bit since our arrival the night before. We took our time this morning...pulling out of Meeker mid day. Just 50 miles separated us from Rangely.... but with nothing but quarantine to greet us there... there was no hurry. We stopped along the way to check out the December scenery on the Western Slope. We’d pull into Rangely late afternoon. Snow... everywhere. Skies darkening...and temps dropping again....rapidly. The kind of cold that doesn’t bother introducing itself before it gets to work on your bones.

It’s Christmas, but it doesn’t feel like it. It feels like another day in a long line of days that have all blurred together. That’s not unusual for us. Holidays never carried the magic...for me... everyone else seems to feel. Too much noise. Too much pressure. Too much pretending.

But this Christmas… it’s different. Not because it’s special.

Because it’s heavy.

We backed into our spot at the RV park, tires crunching over all the fresh snow. I’m watching the temperature on the dash dip down to eight degrees, then seven, then five as night fell. There’s something about pulling into a place that cold... I mean... Really cold...

It’s quiet... but it makes you pay attention.

And for the first time on this adventure of ours... the first thing we’d have to do after plugging in... shovel our driveway! I can’t remember the last time I had to shovel snow... and I quickly remembered why I hadn’t missed it.

I’m not really thinking about Christmas. I’m thinking about the reason we’re here…

Connect with the podcast on our website… ⁠LifeOutThere.me⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Podcast written and recorded by Dougie, Billie, and Craig.

Logo’s designed and owned by Dougie, Billie, and Craig. Design assistance provided by Bing Copilot.

Information sources referenced in podcast include Bing Copilot, Wikipedia, and YouTube.

Intro/Outro music by Audio Jungle and used with permission and acknowledgment.

Third party content shared with acknowledgment and credited in video.

Shared under fair use published material. No copyright infringement intended.

Affiliate Links:

Equipment we use and trust. Helps support the channel if you purchase using one of our Amazon affiliate links. Remember to check for current pricing.

Samsun Q2 USB Microphone: https://amzn.to/4pcoJ2T

MSI Crosshair 18 HX AI A2XW Gaming Laptop: https://amzn.to/4pP7w0e

We use DaVinci Resolve (Free Version) for video editing. Currently no affiliate program.

Logitech Wireless Mouse: https://amzn.to/3YDmkTQ

Mint Mobile: http://fbuy.me/vjNBe

Audacity Audio Editing Software: https://www.audacityteam.org

Auphonic: Pretty awesome audio postproduction software: https://auphonic.com

Man... almost hard to believe we made it... over 450 miles from Burlington... to Meeker...i n the midst of a Colorado winter... and in one day!

And when I say winter, I mean full-on, snow-everywhere, a 9-degree morning, no-question-about-it winter.

The further we drove...it became more and more clear that winter had more than set in here.... but with a break in the weather.... felt like we had to make a break for it...at least get over those Rockies...and vail pass before looking for a spot to crash for the night.

The plains out here are something else. Nothin but snow....as far as we can see...like someone had just dumped a huge bag of flour on everything! This being our first trek through this part of the country...I kept thinking about how different this must look in the summer—green fields, grazing cattle, wildflowers here and there. But right now, so quiet, so cold....all snow-covered, and honestly, it’s kind of mesmerizing.

We kept driving, watching the scenery shift—rolling hills taking over, still blanketed in snow, of course. The trees are bare, their branches reaching up like they’re trying to grab some warmth out of the sky.... It’s like the world’s in some sort of hibernation mode out here.

And then the Rockies show up, and wow. These mountains, covered in snow, are pretty jaw-dropping....the massiveness of it all... The little towns I pass through—Dillon, Frisco—they’re picture-perfect, with snow piled high on rooftops and icicles dangling everywhere. It’s like a postcard come to life. Yet once again...imagining the summer vibe here in contrast to what we are looking at.... hikers hitting the trails, families biking, and wildflowers carpeting the slopes. Today, though, it’s all about the snow.

450 Miles Into a Colorado Winter… and some more History Waiting for Us in Meeker.

Connect with the podcast on our website… ⁠LifeOutThere.me⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Podcast written and recorded by Dougie, Billie, and Craig.

Logo’s designed and owned by Dougie, Billie, and Craig. Design assistance provided by Bing Copilot.

Information sources referenced in podcast include Bing Copilot, Wikipedia, and YouTube.

Intro/Outro music by Audio Jungle and used with permission and acknowledgment.

Third party content shared with acknowledgment and credited in video.

Shared under fair use published material. No copyright infringement intended.